Greetings

Please find below my response to the queries from your end.

Question 1: Is it too early to establish a regulatory framework for OTT services, since internet penetration is still evolving, access speeds are generally low and there is limited coverage of high-speed broadband in the country? Or, should some beginning be made now with a regulatory framework that could be adapted to changes in the future? Please comment with justifications.

- A regulatory framework can only be advised if sticks to the basic principle of openness and neutrality. It can be deployed either in a basic and rudimentary form or given some more time (3 to 5 years).

In a country like India, we should give best efforts to keep the coverage and pricing most attractive to invite more users (especially from rural areas) and this, in turn, can generate higher revenue scales for the telecom operators as well. At the same time, having more internet users can help in solving multiple issue in this over-populated country:

Education Exposure – Real Time Knowledge

Current Affairs – Informed Political Decisions

Lesser Queues - Online services like travel tickets / online applications, etc.

Saving Paper and Fuel – Lesser commute and lesser paperwork (Offline)

Question 2: Should the OTT players offering communication services (voice, messaging and video call services) through applications (resident either in the country or outside) be brought under the licensing regime? Please comment with justifications.

- No, licensing such essential, new-age, collaboration services will reduce overall user-productivity and negatively impact speedy communication across multiple industries.

Question 3: Is the growth of OTT impacting the traditional revenue stream of TSPs? If so, is the increase in data revenues of the TSPs sufficient to compensate for this impact? Please comment with reasons.

- Yes the traditional revenue streams is definitely changing but such a pattern would always be observed in a domain like technology. We earlier had PSTN and Pager, then we had super-costly Mobile Calls, later, we added SMS, and other VAS. The structure of pie would always change.

A user would always tend to consume services as per their budget. A look at the monthly mobile bill values along with subscriber penetration can throw more light into the revenue changes the Telcos would have faced. With Internet of Things (IoT) growing as a concept, even the number of devices involved shall boom.

The data sales (with an increasing user base) ought to be sufficient to compensate for the revenue impact. More studies (government sponsored) should be encouraged in this direction for a clearer picture.

Question 4: Should the OTT players pay for use of the TSPs network over and above data charges paid by consumers? If yes, what pricing options can be adopted? Could such options include prices based on bandwidth consumption? Can prices be used as a means product/service differentiation? Please comment with justifications.

-          If the OTT Players were made to pay to TSP’s, it would be an extremely discouraging move and new app ideas would fail to emerge due to the capital investment involved.

The technology sector contributes a lot towards a nation’s growth and strategic position. Consumer would ultimately be paying the price for such moves. Most of the OTT Apps are currently free to the customer, this does not seem to continue if OTT players were made to pay to the Telcos.

Question 5: Do you agree that imbalances exist in the regulatory environment in the operation of OTT players? If so, what should be the framework to address these issues? How can the prevailing laws and regulations be applied to OTT players (who operate in the virtual world) and compliance enforced? What could be the impact on the economy? Please comment with justifications.

- No, OTT players get active users based on their utility and innovation.

The market supports the competitive and helps in keeping the quality high and costs low.

Question 6: How should the security concerns be addressed with regard to OTT players providing communication services? What security conditions such as maintaining data records, logs etc. need to be mandated for such OTT players? And, how can compliance with these conditions be ensured if the applications of such OTT players reside outside the country? Please comment with justifications.

- An OTT player MUST comply with the national security policies to continue their services in the country. Such a framework must be delicately designed and implemented to prevent misuse related to data theft, data misuse, terrorism, etc.

However, the use must be aware of such logs and recordings as privacy is their right.

Question 7: How should the OTT players offering app services ensure security, safety and privacy of the consumer? How should they ensure protection of consumer interest? Please comment with justifications.

- OTT players must meet the regulatory compliance (including audits) and implement highest data security practices. Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, Honeypot Security, SIEM, Intelligent Zero-Day Threat Protection, Anomaly Detection etc. measures must be used. Also Disaster Recovery best practices must be adhered to ensure data safety and Business Continuity.

Question 8: In what manner can the proposals for a regulatory framework for OTTs in India draw from those of ETNO, referred to in para 4.23 or the best practices summarized in para 4.29? And, what practices should be proscribed by regulatory fiat? Please comment with justifications.

Excerpts from ETNAs framework may be considered only when it is clearly observed that TSPs have dried-up profits to upgrade infrastructure.

- further comment pending- seek expert opinion

Question 9: What are your views on net-neutrality in the Indian context? How should the various principles discussed in para 5.47 be dealt with? Please comment with justifications.

- Net Neutrality has been debated in the developed world as well, the grounds were similar, the concerns were similar.

further comment pending- seek expert opinion

Question 10: What forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach? What should or can be permitted? Please comment with justifications.

- Resource Reservation for State of Emergency / Disasters

- Optimized Priority to Data based on Service Type

Question 11: Should the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications? Is this a sufficient condition to ensure transparency and a fair regulatory regime?

- Not necessarily; as long as the consumer has the choice to easily switch TSPs, the Network / Application performance can decide the user satisfaction.

Question 12: How should a conducive and balanced environment be created such that TSPs are able to invest in network infrastructure and CAPs are able to innovate and grow? Who should bear the network upgradation costs? Please comment with justifications.

- This cost has always been recovered ultimately from the consumers. India is a huge mobile market and there is behemoth room for data services like 3G/4G-LTE. Now it is up to the TSPs to attract and retain additional subscribers and play with volume rather than individual plan costs.

Question 13: Should TSPs be allowed to implement non-price based discrimination of services? If so, under what circumstances are such practices acceptable? What restrictions, if any, need to be placed so that such measures are not abused? What measures should be adopted to ensure transparency to consumers? Please comment with justifications.

- No, TSPs should NEVER be allowed to discriminate between IP-Based services.

This would ease misuse/corruption and would require additional investments for tracking transparency.

Question 14: Is there a justification for allowing differential pricing for data access and OTT communication services? If so, what changes need to be brought about in the present tariff and regulatory framework for telecommunication services in the country? Please comment with justifications.

- TSPs being unable to support such huge data volume growth can be a potential justification in this case. Investments in infrastructure would be required to cater to such demands. Regulatory framework should help in ensuring no misuse like deliberate assignment of low priority to IM/VoIP Apps.

Question 15: Should OTT communication service players be treated as Bulk User of Telecom Services (BuTS)? How should the framework be structured to prevent any discrimination and protect stakeholder interest? Please comment with justification.

- We would like to know more in terms of the impact by classifying a user as a BuTS Subscriber. TSPs can bill an OTT Player linearly &/or commercially.

Question 16: What framework should be adopted to encourage India-specific OTT apps? Please comment with justifications.

- To promote India Specific OTT Apps, these players can be billed with subsidy.

Also, regulatory compliance for them may also be an easier task as their IT infra (Data Center) may be hosted within the country.

Question 17: If the OTT communication service players are to be licensed, should they be categorized as ASP or CSP? If so, what should be the framework? Please comment with justifications.

- They should not be licensed.

Question 18: Is there a need to regulate subscription charges for OTT communication services? Please comment with justifications.

- There is absolutely NO need to limit subscriptions by making them ala carte.

Internet has always new websites/services/service-alternatives coming up. These packages would not be able to offer such flexibility. Volume-based Data-usage billing currently seems to be the most viable option.

Question 19: What steps should be taken by the Government for regulation of non-communication OTT players? Please comment with justifications.

- Let the TSP Bill the business on a linear/commercial basis.

Again, there is absolutely NO call for such an action.

Question 20: Are there any other issues that have a bearing on the subject discussed?

 

- The government and TSPs must understand the origin and growth of Internet has always been revolving around collaboration and information exchange. Countries have advanced on such engines and rather than limiting/regulating its growth, one should support/focus on adding/implementing innovative services built on it.

Thanks & Regards,

Aakash Singh

+91 99903 99969